7 Slow Cooker Recipes Delivering Vegetarian Dinners

With the help of a crockpot, meatless dinners are unbelievably easy to make. All you need to do is throw a few ingredients into your slow cooker in the morning, head to work, and you’ll arrive home to a vibrant vegetarian dish that’s ready to be served for supper. There is no shortage of creative and delicious dishes that can be made in the crockpot, either. Lasagna, bean and spinach enchiladas, and Sloppy Joes are just a few of the marvelous meals that are waiting to be prepared. Keep reading to discover seven meatless dishes you can slow cook for supper.

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1. Super Easy Skinny Veggie Crockpot Lasagna

Layers of thick noodles, vegetables, sauce, and cheese create an appetizing dinner that’s unbelievably effortless. Pinch of Yum’s Veggie Crockpot Lasagna yields 9 servings. If you have another crockpot you’d like to put to good use, we suggest making Kelli’s Kitchen’s Crockpot Parmesan Garlic Bread Sticks to serve with your supper.

Ingredients:

2 (24-ounce jars) or cans of Italian tomato sauce

9 thick lasagna noodles with wavy edges

24 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese or cottage cheese

3 to 4 cups chopped vegetables of choice

2 cups shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese

Parmesan cheese for topping

Fresh parsley for topping

Directions: Spray the crockpot with nonstick cooking spray. Spread ½ cup tomato sauce to the bottom so the noodles don’t stick. Break noodles so that they fit and mostly cover the bottom. Cover with about ⅓ of the ricotta, veggies, sauce, cheese, and end with noodles. Repeat layers two more times for a total of three complete layers. End with a layer of noodles on top, covered with a thin layer of sauce and a little bit more shredded cheese.

Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 5 to 6 hours. Turn the crockpot off completely and let the lasagna sit for at least 1 hour. This allows all the moisture to get soaked into the lasagna. Depending on how long you let it sit, you can either scoop pieces out or just cut with a knife like normal lasagna.

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2. Slow-Cooker Bean and Spinach Enchiladas

Real Simple delivers cheesy roll-ups that are filled with beans, veggies, and zesty seasonings, creating a dinner dish that even meat lovers won’t be able to resist. The recipe yields 4 servings.

Directions: In a medium bowl, mash half the beans. Add the spinach, corn, cumin, 1 cup of the cheddar, the remaining beans, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper; mix to combine. Spread a jar of the salsa in the bottom of a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Dividing evenly, roll up the bean mixture in the tortillas, about ½ cup each, and place the rolls seam-side down in a single layer in the slow cooker.

Top with the remaining salsa and cheddar. Cover and cook until heated through, on low for 2½ to 3 hours. Before serving, toss the lettuce, radishes, tomatoes, and cucumber in a large bowl with the lime juice, oil, and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Serve with the enchiladas and sprinkle with the scallions.

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3. Slow Cooker Vegetarian Gumbo

Oh My Veggies’ gumbo calls for kidney beans, zucchini, and mushrooms, ensuring you have a savory supper that’s packed with invigorating ingredients. This recipe, which yields 4 to 6 servings, was adapted from Williams-Sonoma’s Chicken and Sausage Gumbo.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups vegetable broth

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

8 ounces white mushrooms, quartered

1 small zucchini, cut into thick half moons

1 cup frozen sliced okra

2 tablespoons vegetarian Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon cajun seasoning

1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper, to taste

Hot sauce and cooked rice, for serving

Directions: Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic and cook until softened and just beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer veggies to a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Return the Dutch oven to the stovetop and heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in it. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until it’s golden brown, about 4 minutes.

Pour in the broth and bring to a boil; once the broth has come to a boil, transfer it to the slow cooker. Add all of the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker except the hot sauce and cooked rice. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Once the gumbo has finished cooking, remove the bay leaf and add more salt and pepper to taste if needed. Serve over rice with hot sauce.

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4. Vegetable Pot Pie With Parmesan-Black Pepper Biscuits

Oxmoor House presents a vegetable-packed pot pie that will rival any meat-filled meal. Each bite of this sensational supper is filled with creamy flavor, plenty of produce, and a topping that consists of a fluffy, flaky biscuit. We recommend pairing this dish with Eating Well’s Wilted Spinach Salad With Sherry Vinaigrette.

Gradually add milk and broth, stirring with a whisk. Cook over medium heat 3 minutes or until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly with whisk. Pour sauce into slow cooker. Stir in peas, thyme, and onions. Cover and cook on low for 3½ hours or until vegetables are tender. To make biscuit topping, weigh or lightly spoon 7.5 ounces flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and next three ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cheese and chives. Add buttermilk, stirring just until moist. Increase slow cooker heat to high. Drop biscuits onto filling in 8 equal mounds. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until biscuits are done. Uncover and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Source: iStock

5. Monterey Spaghetti

If you’re looking for a healthy, wholesome, and easy dinner dish, AllRecipes.com has got you covered. Simply boil your spaghetti noodles before you leave for work, place your ingredients in your slow cooker, and you’ll come home to a lovely smelling kitchen and a ready-to-eat meal. Supper doesn’t get any better than this!

Ingredients:

4 ounces spaghetti, broken into pieces

1 egg

1 cup sour cream

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

⅛ teaspoon crushed garlic

3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

½ (6-ounce) can French fried onions

Directions: In a large pot with boiling salted water, cook spaghetti until al dente. Drain. In a large bowl, mix together the sour cream, grated Parmesan cheese, and minced garlic. After beating the egg in a small bowl, transfer to the large bowl and blend together. Transfer to a greased slow cooker. Mix cooked and drained spaghetti, 2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese, thawed spinach, and half of the French fried onions to the slow cooker.

Stir contents of slow cooker until just blended. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high heat for 3 to 4 hours. In last 30 minutes of cooking, turn to high if cooking on low and add remainder of grated Monterey Jack cheese and French fried onions to top of casserole. Serve when cheese is melted.

Directions: Place the first five ingredients in a crock pot and cook on high for about 3 hours or until lentils are done. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Cook for at least one more hour. You can uncover crock pot while cooking the last hour to help thicken more. Spoon onto whole grain buns or bread.